The Image staff muses on the culture of keeping up appearances

Flaunt magazine fetes MCM, Hollywood style

April 12, 2010 | 10:00
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Anyone questioning the comeback of MCM bags should rest assured that the brand is certainly working to return to the clutches of fashionable women everywhere (starting with Hollywood), with that winged logo possibly becoming as ubiquitous as it was during the '80s.

They are certainly making an effort – in L.A. style, with a dinner last week hosted by Eva Mendes at the Hollywood Hills home of Flaunt magazine's publisher, Luis Barajas.

Mendes, friend Tara Subkoff and fellow actress Olivia Wilde posed for pictures on an MCM-branded plexi-glass dance floor, then they made their way upstairs to a room filled with several MCM bags, of which they were allowed to pick a few of their faves to tote home. Each of them also signed an MCM trunk, which will be auctioned off for Mendes’ charity, the Art of Elysium.

"I love there’s an easiness to it,” said Mendes about the black leather MCM clutch she was carrying. “And there’s a bit of an edge, which is really nice.”

“They are good classic styles. It’s nice to see the brand back,” Subkoff chimed in before the two ran into Dita Von Teese, who was making her way up the staircase.

Dinner was served al fresco, which was less than comfortable when the wind started kicking up. Wool blankets were passed out to everyone who swaddled themselves for warmth, abandoning any concern about wrinkling or covering their ensembles. Most people sat frozen trying to warm their hands on soup bowls. Their only movement came when they had to crane their necks to watch Joaquin Phoenix walk by or Casey Affleck stand up to say hi to someone.

As dinner died down, a second tier of people arrived and kicked up a more lively celebration. But most dinner guests left as soon as dessert plates were cleared. Wilde waited at the valet holding a brown leather satchel and a medium-sized trunk emblazoned with the MCM logo, and Von Teese shimmied down the steep steps of the Spanish-style mansion wearing a tight black strapless number, saying that the party was “getting a little Hollywood” as she slipped into her car and drove back down the hill.